Martinez completed his transfer from Aston Villa on August 30, 2026, signing a three-year deal with an option to extend. The fee, reported at £7.5m, looks like a bargain for a goalkeeper with his resume: a 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina, multiple Copa America titles, and a UEFA Europa League medal from 2026.
The move came after Martinez found himself pushed out at Villa. The club had invested around £30m in Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, a signing that effectively made Martinez surplus to requirements. By the end, he wasn’t even training with the first team.
That’s a steep fall for a player who made 256 appearances for Villa after joining from Arsenal in 2020.
Robert Sanchez, Chelsea’s incumbent keeper, had struggled in the season’s opening match. Martinez, world-class and suddenly available for the price of a mid-table midfielder, was the obvious answer.
The No. 26 shirt and what it signals
